I, Di, Private Eye

 Honesty may be the best policy, but it is not always the easiest one. Take one missing box of Saltwater Taffy, for instance.

Exhibit A:

This summer, a beautiful raven haired maiden purchased a box of her favorite salt water taffy whilst on holiday in Ocean City. She looked forward to bringing it home with her, sharing a piece or two with friends and maybe later, after the candy was gone, would use the box to secret away the love letters from her handsome beloved. 

Then the box mysteriously disappeared. Not just for a day. Or even a week. The box was missing for months. The lovely lass was forlorn and her beloved tried to comfort her with moonlit walks and serenades. As he was exceptionally melodious and romantic, the candy was, while not forgotten entirely, was at least pushed to the recesses of her mind. 

Then yesterday, the box appeared as if by magic. One day there was nothing but bottled water there, the next, there was a box of salt water taffy. How? Why? Who? 

No one seemed to know. I, Di Private Eye, began the interrogations, but to no avail, especially since three of the potential suspects weren't even at home. Primary suspect, the Young Lad, said nothing and I figured that if it was him, he would have eaten the candy, which appeared to be present and accounted for. 

Exhibit B

The questioning ceased for the day, but this morning, I asked around again. I think this is the reason I am not a lawyer because just in the simple way I ask puts everyone on the defensive. I don't mean to, it just happens. 

Then the Young Lad looked guilty-ish. I asked him again, and when his eyes filled with tears, I knew he was the culprit. I pulled him close beside me as he gulped back tears. You know the kind of tears I mean, silent but making you shake as you try to breathe. Once he calmed down, I got the story. 

When the box of sweets first appeared at the house, it was left on the kitchen table. He decided to hide it for a trick on the lovely maiden. As the trickery commenced, time passed and the Young Lad forgot where he hid it, until the day before yesterday.

After buying a drawbridge for the wooden train set, he had a reason to go into the basket where the train is kept. There at the bottom, buried in blocks, tracks, and trains was Exhibit A. 

See Exhibit C: The Hiding Place

While it would have been easy to blame the monkey, the Young Lad did not. He admitted his wrongdoing and was sorry. I don't think he intended his trick to go so far. Then, even when he found the candy, instead of being honest about it, he tried to put it somewhere else, hoping no one would question it. 

Honesty. So hard to do sometimes, especially when you think there will be negative consequences. I, as the mother, wanted answers, but did I make being honest any easier with interrogations? Probably not. I think about how God wants me to be honest before Him, open and transparent. I am willing, most of the time and when I am not, it is not because of fear. Rather it is because I don't want to see myself as I really am. God is loving. He loves me regardless of what I've done, what I've been. I need to do the same with my children, my husband, my friends. 

Lesson Learned. 

Love,

Di, Retired Private Eye